World Number 1 Fencer to miss Olympics.
Not 24 hours after 5 Russian athletes were banned from the Olympics over drugs allegations it has today been announced that the current World number 1 Fencer Italian Andrea Baldini has also failed a drugs test and so will not be taking part in the Games which are due to start a week today.
Allegedly the 22 year old failed the test during the European Championships last month.
At this rate the Olympic Village will soon resemble a ghost town and the worry is that though a few have been caught and rightly suspended how many others have slipped through the net.
For me these Games are already tainted and in my view the only way to control drugs cheats is to ban them for life without appeal. There is no excuse these days for athletes especially at the highest level not knowing what they can and cannot take before competition and so a ban of this severity should make the cheats think twice.
Drugs in any form should not be tolerated and a firm line would send the right message and also give faith back to the thousands of honest athletes who dedicate their live to a Sport they love.
